School Specific Essays

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

I thought I could read my friends’ minds as I left the land of the colorful lighting and the blasting music: “Come on, Chloe, don’t be so boring.” I always appeared stiff and uncomfortable at school dances. This is not me. I’m the introverted Taiwanese girl, I told myself as an excuse for leaving early. I did not want to see my friends’ frustrated faces after they gave up pulling me into their dancing circles.
No one understood...

I thought I could read my friends’ minds as I left the land of the colorful lighting and the blasting music: “Come on, Chloe, don’t be so boring.” I always appeared stiff and uncomfortable at school dances. This is not me. I’m the introverted Taiwanese girl, I told myself as an excuse for leaving early. I did not want to see my friends’ frustrated faces after they gave up pulling me into their dancing circles.
After all my...

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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

670 Words

Why have you chosen Carnegie Mellon University?

Why I Have Chosen Carnegie Mellon
At age six, I went to my first funeral. Too young to understand the full scope of what was happening, I only knew that my angelic older cousin who gifted me with the blue robot car toy would never visit me again.
It was not until a few years later did I discover more about his illness — primary carnitine deficiency, a genetic rare disease. Also, I learned about the difficulty of getting the treatment...

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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

130 Words

What motivates you to learn?

My parents used to joke that I was like a goat that consumed everything. I have always been an avid reader with broad interests, hungry for all kinds of information. I enjoy the process of acquiring knowledge and making it my own. Like the feeling when a child unwraps a present and finds a toy she has longed for, the revelation of a previously unknown answer ignites a feeling of thrill in me. Even a dull session of SAT reading...

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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

150 Words

What will you miss the most about your current community when you leave for college?

Intrepid. This word was a “gift” from my social entrepreneurship teachers. I recall their exact words: “Solving a social issue is not easy, but enjoy the process, take risks, and be proud of yourselves.” It was my favorite course in high school. Every class was an intense debate that left me craving for more. My teachers never rejected our ambitious ideas like creating an online, civic engagement platform for all high school students in Franklin County, instead, they suggested possible...

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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

658 Words

Explain why you have chosen CALS and the major you are applying to.

At age six, I went to my first funeral. Too young to understand the full scope of what was happening, I only knew that my angelic older cousin who gifted me with the blue robot car would never visit me again.
It was not until a few years later did I discover more about his illness that took him away, primary carnitine deficiency, a genetic rare disease. Also, I learned about the difficulty of importing the expensive medicine for rare...

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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

408 Words

Teamwork.

The Golden States Warriors touched my heart the summer of 2015 when they won the NBA championship, working as a team. Ever since then, I longed for kinships with passionate teammates. However, my dream didn’t appear to fulfill the requirement. I wanted to be a scientist, but, in every book, most of them were eccentric, antisocial, and never worked well with others. I believed that in order to be a successful scientist, you must undergo the road to glory alone.
...

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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

359 Words

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. We are particularly interested in knowing what motivated you to apply to NYU and more specifically, why you have applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please tell us why you are interested in each of the campuses, schools, colleges, or programs to which you have applied. You may be focused or undecided, or simply open to the options within NYU's global network; regardless, we want to understand - Why NYU? (400 word maximum)

I have always felt somewhat connected to NYU. “New York City is a city of magic!” My mom recalls her days studying in NYU’s graduate school nearly thirty years ago. She came to love the city, and often told me tales about the place where dreams came true, including hers. However, the chaos and overwhelming amount of people did not quite fit the ‘city of magic’ I envisioned when I first visited the city at twelve years old. Not...

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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

241 Words

Why Swarthmore?

I started my search for an ideal college with a checklist in mind: a small school that fosters an intimate community, a top-notch liberal arts education that satisfies my broad interests, strong in STEM to facilitate my goal as a scientist or engineer, motivated and free-spirited students, intelligent and devoted professors, and, finally, an ultimate team with a cool name. After visiting several liberal arts colleges, I believe that Swarthmore was the only school that checked all the boxes.
Months...

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Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity

333 Words

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below. Limit 350 words

I wanted to quit ultimate frisbee. The first few practices were awful: heavy rain, strong gust, and my terrible skills. Five hours later, I still could not do something as basic as throwing a disc right. I felt utterly defeated. I thought of giving up.
However, there is a difference between quitting something I dislike and something I cannot do. My pride did not allow me to admit that I was a bad player; I had to prove to myself...

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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

335 Words

How did you learn about Vassar and what aspect of our college do you find appealing? Limit 350 words

“Vassar Class of 2020!” A new post popped up on my Facebook news feed. It was from one of my upperclassmen friends. His excitement sparked my interest in Vassar. The more I learn about Vassar, the more I am certain that this is where I want to be for the next four years.
Vassar is known for its tight-knit community. I spoke to two of my friends, one who had a chance to visit and the other a current Vassar student....

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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

540 Words

When choosing a college community, you are choosing a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. Generations of inspiring women have thrived in the Wellesley community, and we want to know what aspects of this community inspire you to consider Wellesley. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but the ''Wellesley 100'' is a good place to start.
Visit http://www.wellesley.edu/admission/100 and let us know, in two well-developed paragraphs, which two items most attract, inspire, or energize you and why. (p.s. ''Why'' matters to us.

Tanner Conference
“Hey, are you coming to the workshop about Asian American Representation?” It’s almost my favorite day of the year again. I always feel energized at the thought of attending Diversity Day, one of my school’s long-standing traditions where students and teachers hold workshops on topics of their choice. I enjoy the sharing of diverse experiences and the dialogue fostered by different opinions. Therefore, when I learned about Wellesley’s Tanner Conference, I was thrilled: I knew...

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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

256 Words

Tell us about something you could talk about for hours and why.

Sun. Grass. Frisbee. Team. There are so many unique characteristics of ultimate that I can talk about the sport forever: the strategies, the fun-loving community, the songs we sing after each game, and, most importantly, the spirit of the game.
I started playing in my freshman year, and it has since occupied a significant portion of my life. My best memories of the four years consisted of throwing, catching, running, and laughing with the team. Foremost, I enjoy the sport...

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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

134 Words

When did you first learn of Carleton? (no more than 150 words)

“Here you go!” The work job student at the mail center handed me a transparent box, which contained one thing that always sparked joy in my heart.
It was a frisbee.
I quickly ripped open the thin plastic and took the circular object out, my fingers trimming along the edge of the disc. My mind wandered to the neat white font printed on it. Carleton College.
This came as a total surprise. College applications seemed far away. The only things...

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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

149 Words

Why are you applying to Carleton? (no more than 150 words)

Carleton is renowned for its excellent teaching and close professor-student relationships. I would love to learn under the mentorship of passionate and knowledgeable professors since I have also had the opportunity to develop a close relationship with my teachers and advisors in my high school years and hope to do the same in college.
Besides, Carleton’s trimester schedule is similar to my high school’s semester schedule. I know from experience that this system suits me well as it...

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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

67 Words

Please complete the following, and have a little fun doing so:

I am empowered by people who... love and believe in me and who have been through the same as I have.
I appreciate my community because … it has helped shape who I am now.
In the future, I hope to explore… different fields like cultural studies, languages, and history; as well as way to help the world with technology, especially regarding biochemistry and engineering.

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School Specific Advice

The stress level and competitiveness of a typical student at my school

121 Words

I know a lot of you probably thinks CMU is all work and no play and everyone there is super competitive. Well, it is tough. You can't deny that. You will have friends who party every...

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5 adjectives that describe a typical student at my school (Feel free to elaborate!)

9 Words

Nerdy.
Supportive....

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Additional material sent in after waitlisted or deferred

23 Words

I sent in an email explaining my...

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More Essays

These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.

General Admissions Advice

How to deal with the stress of applying to college

68 Words

Start early, but don't stress about it too much. Believe it or not, originally, CMU wasn't on my radar at...

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How I made up for low grades in high school

63 Words

My grades are not exactly stellar compared to most applicants applying to the same schools as I did. While...

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Recommended summer activities during high school and college

53 Words

Set a goal, whether that is the number of books you want to read or words...

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High School Performance

Unweighted GPA

3.67

Rank

Top 25%

Academic Performance in High School
Some good some badExplanation of Low Grades

Test Scores

Highest ACT

34

ACT Score Details

Other ACT Scores

ACT Prep

Highest SAT

1500

SAT Score Details

Other SAT Scores

SAT PrepSAT IIs

AP / IB Classes and Scores

Details2 classes and scores

Sports

SportsBasketball, Other Sport

Extracurriculars

ActivitiesCultural, Yearbook, Nonprofit, NGO or Charitable Organization, Foreign LanguageElaborate on Extracurriculars or Work